Top 5 Decorating Mistakes Solved

If your cakes usually rise in a big dome and sometimes even split then chances are you’ve got your oven too hot! Character cakes are much easier to decorate if they are flat. To avoid wastage cutting off the dome bake at 160oC Fan forced. If they still split at this temperature then it’s time to get your thermostat check as it may be faulty.

The Sink Hole!

It’s so tempting to open the oven door and check on your cake while it’s baking! Especially if it’s a new recipe or you don’t bake very often. If you open the door too soon it will not have finished rising and set in the middle. This can create a sudden drop in temperature and your cake will sink in the middle. As a rule of thumb, if it’s a 60 minute bake don’t open the door before 50 minutes is up.

The Lake of Icing!

You’re busy butter icing your cake, it’s looking fantastic and going on smoothly. You come back 30 minutes later and it’s started running off the sides and is forming a pool around the bottom of the cake. What happened?? Butter icing requires the butter to be soft. People often melt the butter on partially melt it when trying to soften in the microwave. This destroys the structure of the butter. Over time causing the icing to lose it’s stiffness. Solution, use spreadable butter from the supermarket.

Crumb City!

Birthday cakes are often cut into shapes leaving rough crumb edges around the sides. One great tip if you have time on your side, is to crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of icing. Then pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes. That will seal in all the messy crumbs in the first layer and then you can ice over the top for a clean finish. If you’re in a rush try this technique. Place a large amount of icing on top of the cake, push the icing from the centre towards the edges, gliding gently. This will avoid scrapping at the surface crumbs. Finish by icing the sides.

Google Envy!

Looking for cake ideas on Google and wondering why yours doesn’t look like the picture? It’s like comparing yourself to airbrushed supermodels on the front of Vogue! Don’t do it to yourself!! Google is full of 3 Tier Masterpieces. Pastry chefs have spent days creating them, using $500 worth of fondant and 20 years experience! They are mostly advertisements for professional cake decorators. Not realistic for what you can achieve at home with few skills and no time! Tiered cakes need special support systems and covered in fondant which kids don’t really eat anyway. Aim for a one tiered butter iced cake with fondant details, you’ll enjoy making the cake and the kids will love the taste